Individuals who work with bodily fluids of humans or animals must be protected from direct contact with such fluids. The risk of contacting infectious diseases by contact with bodily fluids of diseased humans and animals has necessitated the use of protective devices such as protective eye glasses and masks, so that doctors and dentists and other medical personnel do not come into direct contact with such fluids. In addition to gowns, gloves, most individuals subject to such exposure wear medical face masks, goggles and/or breathing devices to some degree, which are uncomfortably warm and muffle to some extent the users' speech. Conventional, commercially available masks, such as one made by 3M having an elastic band attached thereto for placement around the back of a user's head and generally over his/her ears, is found by many to be uncomfortable, due to the stretched elastic band rubbing over the ears of the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,340 in the name of Johnson discloses a face shield to protect an individual against inhaling germs and other foreign bodies, comprising a permanent clip portion which is adapted to be mounted on the nose piece of a pair of eyeglasses, and a disposable sheet of a relatively thin rigid sheet of plastic which is removably attached to the clip. Unfortunately, Johnson's face shield provides little or no opportunity for a wearer to lift off the mask partially without complete removal. Attachment of the mask is somewhat complex and thus there exists a need for an arrangement wherein the mask can be partially lifted off the face in a convenient and uncomplicated manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,039 in the name of Dietrich issued Jul. 31, 1990 discloses a protective mask attachable to glasses. The mask comprises a thin frame to cross transversely over the bridge of the nose, below the eyes and across the cheeks of the user; a protective cover is attached to the frame to hang freely in front of the nose and mouth of the user. The frame is attached to the glasses by attachment hooks. Although Dietrich's mask may perform its intended function, it has several limitations. Firstly, it is not adjustable into a plurality of positions. Secondly, it is not suitable for coupling with a commercially available disposable face mask, such as one manufactured by 3M Dental Products Division in the United States sold under the name Fluid Resistance Molded Face Mask, model number 1942FB.
Zegarelli, in a more recent U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,787 issued on Jun. 13, 1995 discloses a pair of glasses that comprises attachment pieces formed on the temple pieces anterior of the eyeglasses ear pieces for attachment of non-rigid support ties of a non-rigid face mask. Although this invention likely performs its intended function, it lacks certain advantages provided by the glasses for supporting a mask disclosed herein, in accordance with this invention. For example, when the wearer becomes to warm under the mask, or wishes to converse in a less constrained manner, the instant invention provides means of partially lifting the mask from the wearer's face without entirely removing the mask.
It is an object of the invention to overcome some of these disadvantages by providing a mask support in the form of a pair of glasses having a single transparent shield or a pair of lenses and including means for attaching to a mask and for supporting a mask in a plurality of positions.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the use of an elastic band for securing a mask in a working position onto the face of a person. It is a further object of the invention to provide alternate means of supporting such a mask on a pair of glasses, without obstructing the view of the wearer, said means being movable into a plurality of positions for positioning the mask near or partially lifted off of the wearer's face.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a glasses attachment having means for attaching to a mask and for supporting a mask in a plurality of positions.